---
title: "Integration Modes: Interactive, Print, RPC, SDK"
type: synthesis
tags: [sdk, rpc, json, print, embedding, synthesis]
updated: 2026-06-19
confidence: high
sources: [raw/github_doc-packages-coding-agent-docs-sdk-md.md, raw/github_doc-packages-coding-agent-docs-rpc-md.md, raw/github_doc-packages-coding-agent-docs-json-md.md, raw/github_doc-packages-coding-agent-readme-md.md]
---

# Integration Modes: Interactive, Print, RPC, SDK

Pi's coding agent runs four ways; pick by how tightly you're integrating.

## 1. Interactive

The [TUI](../concepts/tui-and-customization.md) session for a human at a terminal ([quickstart-and-usage](../concepts/quickstart-and-usage.md)). Use for hands-on coding.

## 2. Print / JSON (one-shot)

Pass a prompt, get a single result and exit. Plain text for humans/scripts, or **`--json`** for **structured output** (the `json` doc) you can parse in CI or pipelines. Use for: code review bots, batch tasks, git hooks, anything non-interactive and stateless-per-call.

## 3. RPC (process integration)

A long-lived pi process speaking a JSON-RPC-style protocol over stdio: you send requests and **subscribe to the event stream** — `agent_end`, `turn_end`, `message_update` (text/thinking/toolcall deltas), `tool_execution_update` (streaming tool output). Use when an external process (editor, daemon, another service) needs a persistent, streaming agent it controls — without embedding TypeScript.

## 4. SDK (embed)

Import pi's agent into your **own TypeScript app** for full programmatic control — build custom interfaces, embed agent capabilities, or integrate with automated workflows. This is the deepest integration: you own the loop, UI, and orchestration around pi's [agent core](../concepts/agent-core-and-harness.md). **OpenClaw embeds pi via the SDK** as a real-world example ([what-is-pi](../concepts/what-is-pi.md)).

## Choosing

| Need | Mode |
|---|---|
| Human coding session | Interactive |
| One-shot/script/CI | Print or `--json` |
| External process drives a persistent agent | RPC |
| Full embed in a TS app | SDK |

All four share the same [events](../concepts/agent-events-and-hooks.md), [sessions](../concepts/sessions.md), [providers](../concepts/models-and-providers.md), and [extensions](../concepts/extensions-and-packages.md) — you're choosing a transport, not a different agent. Pi can help build the integration itself ("ask it to build an integration for your use case").